Turnabout Coincidence
by butter doesn't fly
Summary: When an afternoon at the theater turns into a murder case, Apollo Justice is left having to defend a young, emotional actress accused of killing her best friend. But just what goes on backstage that he doesn't know?
1. Chapter 1

_A flash of light- a spotlight._

"_All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."_

_The silhouette of a girl with her shadow reaching out from behind her. _

"_They have their entrances…"_

"_Wait, what are you doing here?" Footsteps and another flash of the spotlight._

_A sudden snap and a scream._

"…_and their exits."_

_The outline of an open book, before the pages flutter closed. _

"_And one man in his time plays many parts."_

_June 13, 11: 45 AM_

_Wright Anything Agency_

"Polly!" Apollo grumbled under his breath as he accidentally banged his head on the underside o f the couch. He pulled his head and upper torso out from under the furniture and frantically re-spiked his hair before glancing over at Trucy. The teenager was bouncing up and down excitedly, a flyer clutched in her hands. "Look at this! We have to go!"

She thrust the flyer out at him, urging the young defense attorney to read it. Apollo shot a glare at her before taking the paper and scanning it quickly. It was brightly colored in streaks of navy blue, red, white, and dark purple and proclaimed in large, bold letters, '**THE DAZE OF LOVE.**' He winced slightly at the corny title, thinking to himself, _what is this thing for?_

"It's this new musical that's showing at the Dove Theatre downtown!" Trucy smiled widely as if she had accomplished something. "We need to go see it, Polly! It looks really good. Daddy wanted to go see it to, but he has to go play at the noodle place. You'll go with me, right? Yesterday was opening night, and the next shows at 1 o'clock."

"…Do I have to go?"

"Of course you do!" Trucy glared at him, hands on her hips before she seemed to remember something and her expression turned into one of curiosity. "By the way, what were you doing underneath the couch anyways?"

Apollo coughed and held out the feather duster he had been gripping with his free hand behind his back. "Your dad told me to do it. Apparently it's somewhat of a tradition for defense lawyers working here to do menial chores." _And I have to admit, getting all dusty is better than cleaning toilets. _

Trucy blinked for a second before remembering what she had been saying. "Anyways, we have to go see it! I read that the guy playing the main character is really good. It's only a high school and college production, but it's still made it into the newspapers because of him."

And with that Apollo found himself being dragged out of the Anything Agency, the only thought in his mind being, _how do I get myself into these things?_

_June 13, 12:50 PM_

_Dove Theatre_

_Lobby_

Whispers were erupting all around the crowded lobby as Apollo and Trucy pushed their way through. "I don't get it," Trucy muttered as they shoved aside people to get to the doors to the theater where another large crowd was milling. "They should have let us in by now."

Apollo frowned as well as they neared the doors and caught a glimpse of what everybody was looking at. There was a large, white poster taped to each of the doorways which were covered in hasty black writing.

_**DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL,**_

'_**THE DAZE OF LOVE' IS CANCELED FOR AN**_

_**UNDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME.**_

_**WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE**_

_**YOU MAY HAVE SUFFERED.**_

_**THANK YOU.**_

And underneath each was another scrawl, this resembling a signature of some sort. Who had signed it, Apollo had no idea. He glanced at Trucy, who appeared to be deep in thought. _'Circumstances beyond our control'? What happened here?_

"Stop! I'm innocent, let go of me! I'd never kill him, you hear me? Let _go _of me!" The two hastily looked over towards the sound of the voice but could see nothing. Whoever it was had been abruptly silenced, and a crowd of policemen were quickly shooing everybody out of the theatre. Trucy was being targeted particularly, due to her odd attire. Apollo was about to follow her out of the building when a hand gripped his arm, the other pulling on Trucy's.

They were dragged around a corner quickly and both turned to face the person who had grabbed them. It was a boy, maybe 19 years old, with short black hair and brown eyes that were slightly wide, as if in shock. He stared at them levelly, eyes flicking down to take in their appearance before he let out a sigh of relief, tension visibly flowing out of his shoulders and back.

"You need to help her," he said, eyes boring into Apollo's skull. The boy glanced down at his attorney badge before looking back up. "You're a lawyer, right? She didn't kill him, she couldn't have. You need to go see her."

Apollo and Trucy stared blankly at him before the boy sighed exasperatedly and stuck out a hand. "My name's Calvin Bolts. Sorry for grabbing you like that," he didn't look very sorry, "but there's trouble. They arrested her, and you need to defend her. Please, she'd never kill anyone, much less him."

"Wait, what happened here?"

Calvin shook his head, black hair falling in his eyes slightly. "Never mind that, you can ask her. Just get to the detention center quickly!" He let out a sad breath, eyes staring off in the other direction. "She's probably bawling right now. She always does, whenever anything happens, and this was by far the worst."

Apollo glanced at Trucy, and winced slightly when he saw the tears that were already forming in her eyes. "T-That's so sad," she whimpered, scrubbing her eyes before turning defiantly towards the young lawyer. "Come on, Polly! We need to go see whoever it is!"

He sighed slightly and shrugged, before setting off back towards the doors, Trucy close on his heels.

_June, 13 1:20 PM_

_Detention Center_

_Visitor's Room_

Apollo stared at the girl behind the glass. She had long trails of eyeliner running down her cheeks, and her white-blonde hair was pulled up in a hasty pile. She kept taking in gulps of air in attempt to stop the dramatic sobs that continued to rack her frame. Eventually she quieted down enough to let him talk, which he did.

"So…I'm Apollo Justice-"

"And I'm Trucy Wright, Magician!" Trucy cut in, grinning widely at the girl who just blinked.

"…Right. Anyways, we were told to come and talk to you by somebody. Calvin Bolts, to be exact." She instantly perked up, eyebrows shooting up her forehead.

"Calvin? Why'd he send you?"

Apollo sighed and pointed to the small gold badge pinned to his lapel. The girl blinked and then smiled, eyes narrowing in glee. "Oh, you're a lawyer? Why are you here?"

"…You do realize you've been arrested, right?" Trucy ventured, tugging on the edge of her cape uncomfortably.

"…Yeah." She scrubbed at her eyes and took in a deep breath. "Sorry. Just…have to get used to it, you know?" She smiled weakly, before continuing. "So, what should I tell you about first?"

"Well, who you are, for starters."

She grinned. "My name's Alice Goodman. I'm- well, I guess I _was_ in the production of 'Daze of Love' down at the Dove Theatre. I'm not too sure how the show can go on now that he's dead." Alice's lower lip wobbled before she burst out sobbing again, new trails making their way down her cheeks.

_I guess that's as good of a place to start as any._ "Alice, what happened? Who was killed, and why'd they arrest you?"

Alice paused and bit her lip, eyes flicking back and forth as she thought before answering. "Well, it was a freak accident. The wires holding up one of our big spotlights snapped, and fell on the starring man in the show and my best friend, Sean Vineer. Anyways, long story short, when the police got there they went and looked at the rafters were the wires were. There's something of a platform up there, and the stage manager can go up and fiddle around with the lights. The police…well…" She looked down at the ground and rubbed her arm. "They found something of mine by the wires, as well as a pair of scissors with my fingerprints on them, and they arrested me."

Apollo felt a cold sweat running down his face already. _That's not a freak accident! How am I supposed to defend her with evidence like that? _He cleared his throat. "Oh…okay." Trucy was still staring at Alice, her eyes watering slightly. _She's already got Trucy wrapped up in her case._

"Well? Do you need anything else, or are you just gonna stand there?!" Alice had stood up from the chair she was sitting in and was shaking a fist at them. "The trial's tomorrow, you know. Its stuff like that that's gonna get me a guilty verdict!"

Apollo blinked. "Oh, right. Well, we'll need a request for me to be your attorney from you-" he was cut off by Alice waving a hand dismissively at him and shoving an envelope through the slit in the glass.

"Already got that, and give this to Calvin." She tapped a smaller piece of paper, folded up into a small square. "He'll know what it is."

Trucy nodded and grabbed the papers before beginning to pull the attorney out of the room. "Don't worry, Ms. Goodman! We're certain you're not guilty," she proclaimed, and they were off, once again, to the theatre.

_June, 13 2:04 PM_

_Dove Theatre_

_Lobby_

The two looked around the lobby. It seemed much more different now, completely empty of people. Trucy glanced at her half-brother and shrugged before padding over to look at a map of the theatre 

stationed on one of the sleek walls. It showed the lobby, a large square with a red dot showing where they were standing. Through the doors was another square, labeled the theatre, and a thin rectangle portraying the stage. Behind the stage were two squares, dressing rooms 1 and 2, and another room, the sound booth. Trucy glanced around in the semblance of caution before hastily scrawling the map down on a blank piece of paper, which she then shoved into one of Apollo's pockets.

They pushed open the doors and Apollo noted that the signs were still taped to them. _I guess they'll have to cancel the show, now that their lead is dead. _

_June 13, 2:07 PM_

_Dove Theatre_

_Audience_

The area in front of the stage of the Dove Theatre looked pretty normal. There were rows upon rows of red and black seats, four sections of them with aisles separating each. The stage's red curtains were drawn closed, and the entire space was dim, with just a few lights on over-head.

_And it's already swarming with cops, _Apollo noted dryly, _although it doesn't look like this is where the killing took place. I wonder if we can get backstage...?_

"I think we just have to go through those doors," Trucy piped up, pointing at two different doors on either side of the stage. A piece of black cloth hung over both to block any light coming from behind them.

The two glanced at each other before shrugging and heading over to the doors. They were only a little bit away from the door to the right of the stage when a familiar voice was heard over the din.

"Well, look who's here. Somehow I knew I would see you two around." Apollo and Trucy whipped around to see Ema Skye standing behind them, signature bag of snacks clenched in one hand. "After all, you seem to gravitate towards trouble." The detective paused, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if there's a scientific explanation for that…"

Apollo stared blankly at her as she pondered this before snapping back to the real world. "Oh, right. You can't go back there," she said, lazily pointing a finger at the door. "Attorneys aren't allowed at the scene of crime, you know. You have to have a special permit from someone important."

Trucy pouted angrily. "Come on, Ms. Skye! You know us; we're your favorites, right? Please!"

Ema shook her head resolutely. "Nope. Sorry, but unless you run into one of the big wigs around here and persuade them to give you a permit, you're not allowed anywhere near the backstage area." And with that she continued to munch on her Snackoos, ignoring Apollo and Trucy.

The two half-siblings glanced at each other, before Apollo sighed. _Might as well see what information I can get out of her,_ he thought to himself.

"What do you know about the defendant?"

Ema blinked, swallowing. "Who, Alice? Not much. She lives with a roommate who's around 22, I heard, and her parents are deceased. Legal guardianship went over to one of her aunts, but she doesn't live around here. Although…" She stuffed another Snackoo into her mouth thoughtfully. "Something about her seems…familiar."

Trucy frowned slightly. "Familiar? What?"

"I'm not sure. Something about her name…I think I've known someone with about the same name as her, or something. And her eyes remind me of somebody, I just can't remember who."

"Her eyes?" Apollo thought back to what Alice looked like. Her eyes were very dark, and slightly spacey looking, but kind. "They didn't ring any bells when I saw her."

Ema shook her head dismissively. "Well, it might just be my mind playing tricks on me."

Trucy shrugged. "Maybe. But what about the guy who got killed? What was his name again? John or something?"

"Sean Vineer. I can't really tell you anything about him, though." The detective rolled her eyes. "The higher-ups don't tell us much at first, since the killing just happened about an hour ago. Everyone's really hyped up."

"Killing?" Apollo interrupted, eyebrows furrowed. "How is everyone so certain about that? Couldn't it have been an accident, since the wires just snapped?"

Ema shrugged. "Well, they found scissors, didn't they? Plus, according to someone who knew both the defendant and the victim, Alice had a motive to kill Sean."

"WHAT?!" Apollo yelled causing everyone in the room to glance over at him, disturbed. He ignored them and continued. "But she said they were best friends! Why would she want to kill him?!"

The detective shook her head resolutely. "Classified information. Can't tell you. No worries, though. I'm certain the topic will come up in tomorrow's trial."

Trucy blinked. "Oh, that's right, the trial's tomorrow. Who's supposed to be prosecuting it? Mr. Gavin?"

Nodding grimly, Ema scowled. "Yeah, that glimmerous fop. I haven't seen him around here yet, but he's no doubt looking through the rough case file they typed up as soon as they could."

Apollo blinked. "Do they have an autopsy report yet?"

Ema chewed another Snackoo before swallowing. "Nothing official, we just know it was cerebral hemorrhaging. He got hit on the head after all."

Trucy frowned and pulled Apollo out of Ema's earshot. "We need to find someone important so we can get backstage access," she hissed in his ear, making him lean dangerously to the side.

Apollo sighed. "Yeah, I know, be we also have to find Calvin," he added, pulling out the small square of paper. "Alice said to give this to him." He turned the paper over and inspected it from both sides, but there was no sign of what was written on the inside.

Trucy pursed her lips impatiently. "Fine, let's go find him then. Do you think he might still be in the lobby?"

He shrugged. "Who knows, he wasn't there when we came in before, but we might as well check now."


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in the Ace Attorney universe. I only own this storyline and the places and people I made up.**

**WARNING: I forgot to mention it, but there will be the tiniest, barely even mentioned bit of romance that some people may not like for their own reasons. It's nothing big, but crucial to the plot (so I can't really give it away now). **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I try not to have these, but there is one thing. If any of you out there would be interested in being a beta for this story, let me know because it certainly needs one. Thanks!**

**Also, I'm leaving for California today. I won't be back until next Saturday, so I wanted to get this chapter up. It's certainly not as long as I wanted it to be, but it'll have to do until I get back.**

_June 13, 2:32 PM_

_Dove Theatre _

_Lobby_

The lobby looked pretty much the same as when Apollo and Trucy had first walked in. There was a small group of people huddled in one of the back corners, although he didn't recognize any of them. Suddenly Trucy squeaked slightly and Apollo turned around to see her running towards Calvin, who had been leaning against the wall where one of the maps was.

He followed the magician, stopping in front of Calvin. "You're back already," Calvin stated, not even bothering to make it a question. "How is she?"

_She? Oh, he means Alice. _"She's fine. I mean, she was crying pretty hard, but other than that…" Trucy shot Apollo a look that clearly said 'That's not very assuring,' but he ignored it.

"Mm, I see." Calvin crossed his arms, staring at them blankly. "So? What do you want?"

After a moment of searching Apollo pulled out the square of paper and held it out to Calvin. "Alice told us to give this to you."

Calvin blinked warily before taking the paper and unfolding it carefully as if it might explode. He lowered his eyes to read the note that must have been written on it, his eyes widening as he read more. After a moment he blinked a few times in rapid succession and folded the paper back up, slipping it into his pocket. "I-I see. I'll…visit her later to talk to her." He coughed, staring at his feet.

Trucy and Apollo exchanged a glance before she cleared her throat, causing Calvin to glance back up at them. "Um…what'd it say?" Trucy ventured, looking at him curiously.

He coughed again and his shoulders hunched up slightly. "J-Just something about what she had been talking to me about before Sean got k-killed." Calvin's brow furrowed slightly before he blinked and glanced back up at them. "Sorry. Did you need anything else?"

"Yeah, actually, do you know anyone who could give us clearance to go backstage? We want to look at the scene of the crime."

Calvin thought for a second before a thought came to him. It must have been a particularly unsettling one, for a brief flash of something like annoyance came over his features before they settled back into their normal neutral expression. "You might want to find the director of the show. He'd be able to give you permission to go back there."

Trucy lit up. "The director? Who is it?"

Calvin grimaced. "His name's Kevin. He should be somewhere around the theatre, so just find him and tell him you're Alice's lawyer. He'll give you clearance." And with that he waved Apollo and Trucy off and walked away before opening the door and leaving the theatre.

Apollo frowned. "Somewhere around the theatre…"

Trucy tilted her hat slightly and shot him a bright smile. "I bet he's in the audience section with all the policemen!" She actually waited for Apollo's shrug before setting back off toward the doors. On her way, however, Apollo watched her suddenly trip over something on the floor and fall on her face.

"OWWW!" she squealed, sitting up and clutching at her foot. She glanced up at the lawyer, eyes watering. "Polly! My ankle hurts!"

Apollo rolled his eyes. _And she's how old again?_ He walked over a tad slower than she had and knelt down to pick up the object Trucy had tripped over. Turning it over in his hands his eyebrows slowly raised. "A flashlight?" It was one of those pocket-sized ones, a metallic silver color. It was no big surprise Trucy had tripped over it, he realized. It was completely round on all sides and even on the end, the opposite one from the light itself.

Trucy peeled herself off of the floor as he stood up as well, still inspecting the flashlight. There were two little scratch marks on the end, somewhat resembling letters. He had no idea what letters they were, however. "Well, might as well keep this," Apollo muttered to himself, before he walked back over to the doors, Trucy limping behind him and whining loudly.

_June 13, 2:57 PM_

_Dove Theatre_

_Audience_

When Apollo and Trucy entered the theatre again he pulled her over to the farthest corner away from where Detective Skye stood. _I would rather she not see us right now, _he thought wryly. They both scanned the room for anyone who appeared to be of the director status, not that either of them knew what to look for.

"I don't _care _that it's important evidence, my props will _not _leave this theatre!"

"But Mr. Avid-"

"Don't you 'Mr. Avid' me!"

"Either way, we have authority to take anything we believe relates to the case-"

"Authority? Shouldn't _I _have the authority to not allow _my _property to be taken from me?!"

"Mr. Avid…"

Apollo glanced at Trucy but she was already marching over to where the policeman and the man were standing. "Mr. Avid!" He heard her say as he rushed over behind her. "Excuse me!"

He turned to look at her and Apollo's steps instantly slowed down. _I-I'm not really in a rush to get to this guy. _He had hair that was somewhere in between blonde and orange and a suspicious expression on his face. There was the tattoo of a rose on his lower arm, and his upper arms were covered by the baggy sleeves of a plain, dark pink shirt with the words '**THE DAZE OF LOVE**' scrawled on them in purple. Over-all he looked like a kind of dramatic person, and Apollo turned out to be right.

"Yes," he said with mock suffering, shooing away the policeman who had tried to continue their conversation, "What do you two kids need?"

_Kids? I'm 23! Shouldn't that count for something? _"Well, we over-heard you talking and we wanted to ask if you were the director of the show…?"

"Director?" He sniffed and stuck out a hand for Apollo to shake. "More like I gave _birth_ to this show. Kevin Avid, at your service." After shaking the attorney's hand Kevin dipped down into a deep bow before straightening, eyebrows raised. "And you are?"

"Apollo Justice. I'm Alice Goodman's lawyer."

"I'm Trucy Wright, Ace Magician!" Apollo glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. _Her 'title' keeps getting longer and longer._

"Alice's lawyer?" Kevin perked up and stared at them more interestedly now. He was also twirling what appeared to be a pair of darkly shaded sunglasses. "Good, she got herself one. She didn't do it, right?"

Apollo felt his palms begin to sweat. "That's what we're trying to find out, Mr. Avid-"

"Please," he interrupted, flapping a hand at them, "call me Kevin. I'm only 29, calling me Mr. Avid makes me sound _so _old, don't you think?"

"…Sure."

"Exactly." Kevin slid the sunglasses on, looking satisfied. Apollo just swallowed before remembering what he had found him for in the first place.

"Er, Kevin? We were wondering if…well, you see, we want to go look at the crime scene. We need your permission to do that. Could you maybe just write something down that says you're giving us clearance to go backstage?"

Kevin blinked before a determined expression set in on his face and he clenched a fist. "Of course, anything for the people who are going to get Goodman out of jail!" And with that he pulled out a pad of flower-shaped sticky-notes and began to scrawl deliberately on one of them. There was a moment of silence before he made a small sound of triumph and pulled the note off of the others in the pile, presenting it to Apollo. "There!"

Apollo eyed the flower like it was going to bite him and picked it up with the tips of two of his fingers before handing it over to Trucy, who was slightly more enthusiastic about it. "Right, thanks. I guess that all then-"

Trucy violently elbowed him in the side. "Polly! Aren't there some things you want to ask him?"

His eyebrows rose slightly and he turned back to Kevin, rubbing his side. "That's right. Uh, could you tell us about the boy who was killed? Sean Vineer?" _Since Ema refused to tell us._

"Sean? Oh…" Kevin trailed off in thought, before shaking his head slightly and coming out of the fog. "Right, well, I assume you already know that he was the star in my show. Real talented, that kid. And nice, I don't know why anyone would want to kill him. Small family, his dad, and a sister. Step sister, really, but they were so close you would think they were blood related."

Apollo blinked. "What about Alice? They were really good friends, right?"

"Yeah, practically glued to each other, those two were." Kevin shook his head and twirled his sunglasses again. "Most of the time, that is."

Trucy perked up. "Most of the time? What about the rest of the time?"

Kevin winced and shook his hands in front of himself. "Ah, nothing, nothing, forget I said it." He let out a nervous laugh. "Ha, best friends, Alice and Sean were. Yeah…" He lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

"But Ms. Skye said that they had a motive for Alice killing Sean," she said, raising a finger as she made that point.

"W-Well, you two are smart kids," _There he goes with that 'kid' thing again, _"So I'm sure you can find out everything else you need to know yourself. Now, just go and give that to the good Detective," Kevin sputtered, waving them off before turning to begin snapping at the policeman again.

Apollo sighed. _We aren't going to get anything else out of him for now. But what got him so freaked out?_ They both walked through the aisles of seats to find Ema again. She was standing in about the same place they had left her, munching distractedly.

"Ms. Skye!" Trucy called, waving one hand as they neared her. Ema looked up, annoyed, and swallowed.

"What is it?"

"We've got permission to go backstage," the magician said in a sing-song voice, pulling out the sticky note to hold it out proudly. Ema's eyebrows rose and she peeled the note off of Trucy's fingers, quickly skimming it.

She let out a huff of irritation and cast a glare at where Kevin stood. "Oh, the director. Figures, I knew he had a soft spot for Ms. Goodman." Ema rolled her eyes and gestured to the doorway backstage. "Well, knock yourself out. Just _don't touch anything,_" she hissed dangerously, stuffing the note into her bag.

Trucy held up her hands innocently. "Us? Of course not!" She turned back to glance at Apollo over her shoulder. "Come on, Polly! We have a crime scene to inspect!"

_June 13, 3:32 PM_

_Dove Theatre_

_Backstage Hallway_

When Apollo and Trucy slipped through the doorway the first thing they saw was a giant cardboard figure of a star. Next to it on the ground were several cans of pain, along with brushes sticking out of a few of them. They were in a dimly lit hallway with gray carpeting, doors dotting both sides. There were pieces of paper on each door stating whose dressing room they each were.

Even more policemen, if that was possible, were crowded around in there. They wormed their way around them until they found an empty pocket of space towards the end of the hallway.

"Excuse me, Ms. Gany-"

"I'm sorry, I need to go home."

"We need to bring you into the precinct-"

"_Please,_ officer, she's obviously traumatized. Her own brother was killed right in front of her, she needs to rest."

Apollo's eyes widened. _Uh oh…that voice is really familiar…_


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in the Ace Attorney universe. I only own this storyline and the places and people I made up.**

**WARNING: I forgot to mention it, but there will be the tiniest, barely even mentioned bit of romance that some people may not like for their own reasons. It's nothing big, but crucial to the plot (so I can't really give it away now). **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I try not to have these, but there is one thing. If any of you out there would be interested in being a beta for this story, let me know because it certainly needs one. Thanks!**

**Ah, reviews! Thanks so much, all of you readers! And over 170 hits! Thanks for reading this, you guys!**

**Short chapter yet again! The first trial is next chapter, though. Hope you all aren't too confused at this point. Just ask me anything you want if you are, of course. **

"Excuse me, Ms. Gany-"

"I'm sorry, I need to go home."

"We need to bring you into the precinct-"

"_Please,_ officer, she's obviously traumatized. Her own brother was killed right in front of her, she needs to rest."

Apollo's eyes widened. _Uh oh…that voice is really familiar…_

"Apollo?" Trucy glanced at the lawyer and then followed his eyes to see what he was staring at. She brightened. "Oh! Mr. Gavin!" She jumped up and waved, ignoring Apollo's frustrated groan.

The man glanced over at the two and blinked before his familiar smile slid over his features. "Fraulein! Herr Forehead! What a surprise to see you two here." Klavier was standing next to the policeman he had been talking to. Slightly behind him was a girl of about 20 or so, twisting the end of one of her auburn pigtails, distressed.

Trucy smiled. "Ms. Skye told us that you were the prosecutor for the case. That's great! You and Polly can go against each other again!"

Klavier turned slightly to smirk at Apollo. "Sounds wonderful, Fraulein. Now, if you don't mind I must be escorting a young lady back to her home," he tapped the nervous woman on the shoulder, forcing her to snap out of her daze and direct a shaky smile at him.

"T-Thank you, Mr. Gavin," she stammered, hands twisting with each other, "but I'm sure I can get to my house myself. I don't want to keep you from your work." She cast a wary glance at Apollo and Trucy before she slipped past them and disappeared around the corner.

Klavier looked like he was about to go after her before he sighed slightly and, putting his hands on his hips, smiled at the other two. "Well, that's that, ja? Now don't you two have somewhere to be?"

Trucy shook her head resolutely, sticking her hands on her hips. "Nope! We want to talk to you!" A silent moment passed before she pushed him forward. "Well? Go talk!"

Apollo sent her a quick glare before sighing, resigned to his fate, and turned back to the amused looking prosecutor. "Right…well, there's the obvious. Who _was_ that woman?"

Klavier laughed slightly. "That was Sophia Gany. She's the victim's stepsister."

"Sean's stepsister?" Trucy exclaimed, eyes wide. "But her last name is different."

"Ah, well for some reason Sophia and her mother insisted on keeping their last name when she married Mr. Vineer." Klavier smiled disarmingly. "But if that's all, Herr Forehead, I really do have somewhere to be."

"H-Hold on, there's still something-!" Apollo blinked, eyes wide, but the prosecutor was already gone. He slowly lowered the hand he had held up before glancing at Trucy. "Okay…so, should we go look at the dressing rooms?" He asked, tilting his head towards the doors.

The magician, who had looked confused before, smiled. "Of course! There are probably all sorts of clues there!" she declared, marching towards the closest one with her half-brother trailing behind her.

_June 13, 3:50 PM_

_Dove Theatre_

_Dressing Room #1_

"Or…not." Trucy stared wide-eyed at the dressing room. Apollo pushed her slightly so he could squeeze through the door only to stare as well.

It was practically empty. The dull gray carpet was bare, as well as the walls. There was a clothing rack on the far wall with only a few pieces of clothing on it. On the wall to the left there was a long shelf-type thing. The only thing on that was a small hard cover book and, underneath, a plastic trash can.

Trucy wilted. "W-What happened to everything? Wouldn't they have all these costumes and makeup in here?"

"Doesn't look like it," Apollo said. He tapped the piece of paper taped to the door. "See? The only names on here are Sophia Gany- I guess she was in the show, too- and Alice Goodman." He turned back to look at the room again. "They probably didn't need that much stuff. But you're right, there should be more in here!"

Pursing her lips in thought, Trucy wandered across the room to pick at the clothes hanging on the rack. There was one outfit on it, along with a pair of sneakers underneath and a baseball cap hanging on the edge of the rack.

She unhooked the hanger from the metal pole and held the dress in front of her, spinning slightly. "Look, Polly! Isn't it pretty?"

"Trucy! Don't touch other people's things!"

"Oh come one, Polly," she whimpered, pouting. "This is an _investigation! _We _have _to touch things! Plus," she added, staring at the navy blue dress adoringly, "it's so sparkly!"

_Well, _the attorney thought to himself, _you have to admit she's right. _The dress was certainly shiny, at least. It was absolutely covered in wide, circular blue sequins that made a soft clattering sound as Trucy whirled it around. "It could really be either girl's costume," he said, taking the dress from her and hanging it back up. "You can as Alice about it later."

Trucy nodded, resigned, before glancing over at the large mirror on the left wall. "Wow!" She waved her hands at it. "Look! It's just like in one of the Hollywood rooms!" She looked excitedly at Apollo. "Do you think Daddy could get me one of these for my shows? It would be so cool!"

_And it would probably make a huge dent out of his wallet at the same time. Assuming he even has a wallet, of course. _Apollo decided not to answer the question out loud, instead turning his attention to the book sitting on the counter.

It had a soft yellow cover, almost gold, with something written on it in blue. He had to squint to make it out. _Autographs, _it stated in curving text. He frowned slightly, brow furrowed, and cracked the book open.

Instantly he coughed as a small cloud of dust puffed up at him. Waving a hand in front of his face he waited for it to clear before looking at the inside of the book.

Even though the dust suggested it hadn't been opened for years the writing inside looked fresh. There were dozens of signatures in differently colored pens and markers. On the page he had opened he could recognize the scrawl that was on all of the posters outside the theatre, now realizing it was Kevin Avid's.

He flipped through it idly. _Geez, do all actors have really bad handwriting?_ Of course, there were a few different ones. Like Calvin Bolts, his name was printed neatly at the bottom of one page in plain black pen.

Trucy had finally realized he was looking at something else. "What's that?" she piped up, taking the book from him and ignoring his sputtering. "An autograph book? Cool!" She looked through it before turning to the back cover. There, on the plain sheet of paper pasted to the cover was a name. _Alice Goodman, _it said, and then the girl had drawn at small smiley face and a star.

_Definatly her book, _Apollo thought to himself as Trucy slapped it closed.

"Let's keep this, Polly! It could be a really important clue!" Apollo rolled his eyes, quickly checking his hair in the mirror.

"I doubt it. But we could probably at least give it back to Alice. She'd like to see it, I bet."

"I guess," Trucy sighed, still clutching the book in front of her.

"Okay. I don't think there's anything else in here. Should we go look in the other room?"

"Sure. Hopefully the people in that one at least have some _stuff_ in there. This room was just boring!" Trucy complained, heading out the door. Apollo shook his head before turning to follow her.

_June 13, 4:17 PM_

_Dove Theatre_

_Backstage Hallway_

The hall was still police-filled. There was a huge crowd around the second door, much larger than anywhere else. Apollo cast an unsure glance at Trucy before walking over and trying to push his way through the police. Almost instantly he was glared at and told that, "We're doing an investigation here. Come back later."

Trucy pouted. "No fair! We need to investigate too," she whined, tugging on Apollo's sleeve. "Go tell them that, Polly!"

"They still won't let us in," Apollo sighed, turning away from the crowd. "You heard him, Trucy. We'll just come back later." _Besides, I have a few questions for Alice._

Trucy looked like she wanted to stay and try to get past the men but she relented and followed behind Apollo.

_June 13, 4:31 PM_

_Detention Center_

_Visitor's Room_

"Alice?" The detention center was empty. Trucy and Apollo stood in the visitor's room awkwardly, before he thought to ask the guard standing by the door. "Eh…where's Alice?"

He didn't even look at them. "Miss. Goodman is currently in questioning."

Trucy stuck her hands on her hips. "Hmph! She can't even get out of that for her attorney?"

The guard seemed to jump slightly at that and glanced over at them. "You're her attorney?"

Apollo was silent until he realized that Trucy was looking at him expectantly. He flinched and scratched the back of his neck. "Er, yeah, Apollo Justice."

"Well you should have said so. Miss. Goodman asked me to give you this," the guard grunted and slipped a folded up piece of paper through the slit in the glass.

Trucy darted in front of Apollo to pick up the note. "Thanks, Mr. Guard!" she squealed, rapidly unfolding it. Apollo leaned over her shoulder to read it.

_Dear Mr. Attorney and Miss. Trucy,_

_I know that after you talk to some people and look around the theatre you'll probably want to bombard me with questions. One being, of course, why I would kill Sean, my best friend._

_I don't know if you've been told or not, but I guess I should tell you too. Well…you see, the day of the murder as well as a few days before it me and Sean were sort of fighting._

_It doesn't matter what we were fighting about, but I just want you to know that we had made up just an hour before his death! Even if I had planned to kill him, I wouldn't have done it then, (and certainly not in such an unimaginative method. I mean, getting hit on the head? Boring.)._

_So, that's really the only thing I can think of that you would want to know. Have you met Kevin yet? Don't be too scared of him, he means well, he does. Did you know that he's Calvin's uncle? Weird, huh? Total opposites, those two._

_With lots of love and hoping I can get out of this one and not go to jail,_

_Alice Goodman ___

Apollo's eye had started to twitch just by reading the first sentence. _What, she can remember Trucy's name but not her own lawyer's? Just great._ The twitch stopped after a moment but the second they hit the part about her and Sean fighting it started back up again, complete with a cold sweat. _This is not good…_

"Woah, Polly!" Trucy shook the paper in her hands excitedly. "Calvin and Kevin are related! That's so _weird!_" Apollo ignored her, favoring just flat out glowering at the innocent-looking letter. _She just _had _to make this thing hard for us, didn't she? And what was that whole thing in the second-to-last paragraph? Does she even realize how much she sounds like a murderer?_

Trucy, finally noticing Apollo's expression gingerly re-folded the letter and slid it into a pocket that seemed to appear in her cape out of nowhere. "Okay…well, we got that question answered," she giggled somewhat awkwardly. "The trial's tomorrow, right? Do you think we'll be able to do okay?"

Apollo sighed and shrugged, rubbing his face slightly. "I hope so. The best we could do at this point, what with the evidence stacked up against us is try to get another day or so of investigation. I don't know, considering the situation it looks like an open and shut case."

Trucy not so gently socked her half-brother in the arm. "You can't think like that! We haven't even seen some of the decisive evidence, not to mention we don't know who's going to be testifying!" When Apollo opened his mouth to let Trucy know just how 'uplifting' these words were she interrupted him. "I know that doesn't _sound_ good, but just think! The 'decisive evidence' could be wrong or something!"

Apollo mulled this over for a moment before grinning toothily, an abrupt change from his normal mood. "'Course, Trucy. I'm sure we'll get Alice out of this one!"

The magician tilted her hat in the mockery of a bow. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the Trucy Wright Cheering Up act!" She hooked her arm into Apollo's and led him towards the door. "Now c'mon! I have a show tonight!"

"Please tell me you're not doing the Magic Panties act," Apollo muttered, only to groan upon seeing her bright smile. _Oh, just great. _

_To be continued…_


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

This is not a chapter. Sorry for anyone who saw this and got their hopes up, I just needed to make an announcement of sorts. Turnabout Coincidencewill not be updated for awhile, as I'm leaving for West Virginia July 19. I've been extremely busy (and will be for the next few days), with acting and packing and just plain being dragged around to buy things. I will not be back for about a month (I don't know the exact date), but this story _will _continue, mark my words.

Anyway, sorry for this 'update', but I just wanted you all to know about this. Thank you for having patience with me, and I hope I repay you with Chapter 4 when I return.


	5. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in the Ace Attorney universe. I only own this storyline and the places and people I made up.**

**WARNING: I forgot to mention it, but there will be the tiniest, barely even mentioned bit of romance that some people may not like for their own reasons. It's nothing big, but crucial to the plot (so I can't really give it away now). **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I try not to have these, but there is one thing. If any of you out there would be interested in being a beta for this story, let me know because it certainly needs one. Thanks!**

**You guys spoil me! All these views for this story! But I'm back, and with a whole new chapter, I just hope it'll make up for the long wait. It's not as long as I'd like, but I thought that was a good place to cut off. Plus, I wanted to get it to you guys as quickly as possible.**

**Also, I do not own the Apollo Justice game, or have it with me. I'm completely going off of memory and the internet here, so if anything is not correct to the game please tell me so I can change it. Thank you!**

**Also, also. I…sort of drew Alice Goodman. Sort of. If you really want to see it (and you shouldn't, I suck at drawing), you can find it here:**

**butter-doesnt-fly (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) OC-The-Dramatic-One-91178287**

**If that doesn't work, go to my deviantART page (linked on my profile as homepage) and look in my gallery for it. It's called OC: The Dramatic One.**

_June 14, 9:43 AM_

_District Court _

_Defendant Lobby #3_

Apollo gnawed nervously on the inside of his bottom lip, one hand clutching the thick folder of information on the case and the other tracing idle patterns on his bracelet. He swallowed thickly, rubbing his throat with the free hand. _Maybe three hours of practicing my Chords of Steel was a bit overkill, _he thought grimly.

"C'mon Polly, chin up! You'll do fine!" Trucy emerged from the crowd of people where she had wandered off to a few minutes ago, smile in place.

"I don't know… The prosecution has all that evidence against us, and that's only the stuff we know abou-"

"Mr. Lawyer!" A loud voice interrupted Apollo. He and Trucy turned to its source and were met by Alice. She was waving with one hand and fisting the other in the fabric of her jeans.

Alice trotted over to them. "Hey! How's everything going? Am I gonna go to jail?" She asked brightly, all signs of the bawling mess she had been yesterday gone.

Trucy grinned back at her. "Of course not! Polly will get you out of this scot-free!"

Apollo grimaced. _She uses words like 'scot-free' but won't take any responsibility in the case? That's just great._

Alice brightened even more than before. "Great! By the way, have you seen Calvin anywhere? I wanted to talk to him."

Apollo glanced around the room but there was no sign of him. "No… Are you sure he's coming to the trial?"

Alice nodded distractedly, twisting her hair around a finger. "He said he was going to. A lot of people from the show are here. Oh, well, I'll find him later or something."

Trucy frowned slightly. "Hey, do you guys know who's going to be called up to testify?"

Alice cocked her head to the side in thought. "I'm not sure… They haven't really given me any information about the whole thing."

Apollo opened his mouth and was about to speak when Trucy interrupted him, pointing to the doors. "Polly, we have to go in! It's time now, they're opening the doors."

_June 14, 10:00 AM_

_District Court_

_Courtroom No. 2_

The courtroom was buzzing. People were talking on both sides. Apollo could see Alice scanning the crowd as she walked to the defendant's stand. Every now and then she would wave and grin happily at someone.

The judge banged on his stand with his gavel as Apollo took his place behind the defense's desk. As usual Klavier Gavin was a cross the room, smiling charmingly at the many squealing fan girls on his side of the courtroom. Everyone slowly quieted down, leaving the judge to speak.

"The court is now in session."

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," Klavier said easily, turning his attention to the judge.

"The defense is…" Apollo trailed off, watching in vague horror as Alice signed a napkin held out to her, not paying attention to the trial at all. He shook himself when Trucy poked him and tried to stay on track. "The defense is ready, Your Honor."

"Very well." The judge cleared his throat before glancing curiously over at Klavier. "Well, I'm sure we all want this case to be cleared up as soon as possible. Your opening statement, please?"

Apollo raised his eyebrows. _The judge seems like he's in a hurry. I wonder why?_

Trucy sent him a mischievous smile. "He probably just wants it to be over soon so he can go to the fair. You know, the one this week? He's clutching a flyer for it underneath his desk." Apollo sighed and rubbed his eyes. _Figures._

Klavier spoke up, snapping his fingers to punctuate his words. "Ja, first the victim in this case. Sean Vineer, age 20. College student at Ivy University and leading actor in the new musical, 'The Daze of Love'. The cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage due to a large, roughly 120-pound overhanging spotlight falling on him. I have the autopsy report here, of course." He pulled it out of the pile of papers on his desk, handing two copies to the judge, who then passed it to Apollo. The attorney grabbed it and quickly scanned its contents.

_Name: Sean Vineer_

_Age: 20_

_Cause of death: Cerebral Hemorrhage_

_Time of death: 12:30_

_Notes: Died of blow to head, but there were also dozens of small cuts all over the body._

"The court accepts this as evidence," the judge said, reading the report as well. "Hm, 120 pounds? Quite heavy, that would leave more than a scratch."

Apollo felt a cold sweat bead on his forehead. _Well of course, he was killed!_

"Death was immediate," Klavier continued, flicking his fingers again. "The certain spotlight that dropped on Mr. Vineer was upstage center, or to the non-theater crowd in the middle of the stage, but far in the back. It could be controlled by someone standing on a catwalk above the stage, as well as many other smaller light fixtures, ja?" Apollo glanced down at the diagram of the stage area he had been given. The spotlight was marked with a red X, and was, like Gavin had said, smack in the middle. The catwalk, it seemed, was a long, narrow rectangle above the upstage portion of the stage.

"But surely the spotlight would be stable enough above the stage! How could it just drop like that?" The judge voiced, eyes wide and blinking."

Klavier grinned. "Achtung! You seem to be forgetting, Herr Judge, that there_ is_ someone accused here. The prosecution believes that they deliberately loosened said spotlight and planned it so that it would fall on Mr. Vineer."

"You do?" The judge frowned.

"Of course. And it could be none other than the defendant, Alice Goodman!" Klavier pointed at the girl, who blinked tearfully and scrubbed her eyes. Apollo wilted slightly. _She's already started crying?_

"I assume you have testimony to back up your claim, Prosecutor Gavin. Let the witness please take the stand."

All attention was quickly directed to the witness stand, where Detective Ema Skye was now standing, smiling confidently. Klavier nodded to her. "Witness, your name and profession?"

"Ema Skye, I'm a detective for the police department. I was near the Dove Theatre when the killing took place, so I reached the scene quickly. "

Apollo furrowed his brow, looking at her. _She doesn't seem worried about her testimony at all. Do they really have that much evidence against Alice?_

Trucy shot Ema a look, pursing her lips slightly. "I wonder what she was doing so near the theater…"

"You may give us your testimony now, Fraulein Detective. Please describe what you found at the scene of the crime, and what had been going on before," Klavier said with a self-assured smile.

"Yeah, yeah," Ema crossed her arms over her chest and looked to the side. She muttered something under her breath (Apollo thought it _almost _sounded like 'you glimmerous fop', but couldn't be sure) before beginning.

"I really don't know anything about plays, so I'm just telling you guys what the director and a few others told me. They were having two performances of The Daze of Love that day, one at 1:00 and one at 7:00. By the time I got there it was about 12:40, roughly ten minutes after Vineer's death. He was a nasty sight, skull completely crushed and blood everywhere. After speaking quickly to the witness and several other people who were at the scene of the crime I deduced who appeared guilty in this case. Then we read Miss. Goodman her rights, you know the drill, and tried to keep everyone calm so we could clear the building."

A hushed murmur rose in the audience and Apollo could see the judge mulling this over. "I see. Quite fortunate you were so near the scene."

Ema turned to the side, an affronted look on her face. Apollo sighed. _Just what _was _she doing so near the theater?_

"Polly?" He turned to look at Trucy, who was tapping her chin with a thoughtful look in her eyes. "How would the people there be able to pick out Alice so quickly? I mean, she's making it sound like there was only one witness there at the time of the murder."

Apollo shrugged, casting a worried glance at Ema. "I don't know, Trucy. We're still way behind the prosecution evidence-wise, we need to learn more about this case and fast."

"Very well," the judge spoke up and the courtroom grew quiet again, "the defense may begin the cross-examination."

Apollo nodded and turned his attention to Detective Skye, who was looking right back at him boldly.

"_Hold it!_" Apollo cleared his throat nervously. _Here we go…_ "Two performances in one day?"

"Yeah," Ema said, pursing her lips. "The murder occurred before the first one, the afternoon show. It's called something; they told me…a manatee, or something."

"A _matinee_, Fraulien Detective," Klavier corrected. He shot a condescending smirk at Ema, who simply huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's a term many performers use for shows that go on in the afternoon. Not quite as popular as night-time shows, but it happens none the less."

Trucy glanced at her half-brother wryly. "That didn't really help much, Polly." He scowled, as if to say 'I know, I know, just stop bugging me about it' and glanced down at the court record.

"_Hold it!_ Detective Skye, it says in the autopsy report that there were also small cuts over Sean's body. Where did they come from, if you're saying he just had a crushed skull?"

Ema let out an exasperated sigh. "I didn't say he _just_ had a crushed skull. That was the thing that jumped out at me at first, was all. The small cuts were from the glass in the spotlight shattering upon impact with Mr. Vineer and the ground."

"…Oh." Apollo scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, flushing at the smirk Klavier directed at him. "I-I see."

The judge shook his head. "Really, Mr. Justice, even I could assume that!"

"Ouch, Polly," Trucy teased, grinning. "That's pretty much the worst thing someone could say to you."

Apollo ground his teeth, frustrated, quickly attempting to make the judge forget about that mistake by speaking up again. "_Hold it!_ Detective Skye, you said you spoke only quickly to the witnesses. How could you be so sure that Alice was to blame?"

Ema cleared her throat. She had obviously been waiting for this question. "Our witnesses for this case were extremely well-informed. They both saw the crime from different perspectives, so it was easy to patch up any holes in one's testimony with information from the other."

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "And both testimonies were compatible?"

"Perfectly. There's barely any room for doubt, really."

"_Barely_ any room for doubt?"

Ema scowled. "Well, obviously there always will be room for doubt. The only person who knows exactly what happens in a case is the person who committed the crime."

"She's right, Polly," Trucy said, smiling. "See, I _told _you it's not completely hopeless! We still have a chance!" She stuck her hands in front of her in a box shape. "See, the way I see it is the prosecution is like a box surrounding the real truth. It's completely solid except for one little crack. So what we have to do it wriggle our way into the crack and keep pushing so it gets bigger and bigger until the box shatters completely!"

Apollo eyed her for a bit, not sure if he should be appreciative or slightly freaked out by Trucy's seemingly newfound deeper level. "Y-Yeah…I get it."

"Besides," Ema continued, placing a hand on her hip. "All our evidence recovered at the scene of the crime points to Alice too."

"Evidence?"

"Calm down, Herr Forehead," Klavier said, grinning. "We'll get to that in due time, don't worry about it. What's important right now are the witnesses. Unfortunately, we could only get one of the two key witnesses at today's trial, but the prosecution is confident that he will provide more than enough testimony."

"What?!" The judge shouted. "What about the other witness?"

"I'm very sorry," Klavier said, suddenly serious. "I tried to get her to come to court but I'm afraid she's still traumatized from the other day, ja?"

"Who exactly is this witness?" Apollo asked, although he already thought he knew the answer to that.

"Sophia Gany, step-sister to the victim." It was Ema who answered. She pulled her glasses down over her eyes. "She was merely feet away from Sean. I'm sure she's shocked enough of her brother, who she was very close to being squashed in front of her eyes, much less knowing the fact that had she been a few feet over it would have been her killed. Dragging her to the courtroom to testify only for her to break down isn't a very good idea, that's my opinion."

Trucy frowned, glancing over at Apollo. "She didn't seem that bad yesterday. Do you think it just hadn't sunk in yet?"

He shrugged. "That's our best guess." He looked over at Alice. She was twisting the ends of her hair and frowned vaguely, a far-off look in her eyes._ Wonder what _she's _thinking about?_

"Anyway, I think we should bring the next witness up, if that's alright with your honor?" Klavier asked, looking at the judge.

"I don't see why not. Do you have any problem with that, Mr. Justice?"

Apollo and Trucy shared a silent glance before he shook his head. "We've learned everything we need to learn," _or will learn, _"from Detective Skye."

"Very well. Court will adjourn for a ten-minute recess before we bring up the next witness." The judge banged his gavel, dismissing the courtroom.

_June 14, 11:07 AM_

_District Court _

_Defendant Lobby #3_

"Alice! What's this deal with there being two witnesses?!" Apollo shouted, face flushed with worry.

She seemed to shrink under his gaze, burying her hands in the pocket of her jacket. "I-I didn't know about the second one…I only knew Sophia was a witness 'cuz I knew she was rehearsing with Sean before he was killed, so she had to have seen it."

He paused. "Rehearsing?"

"Yeah, they were practicing one of their scenes one more time. But I have no idea who the second one it, honest!" She waved her hands in front of her. "I would have told you if I did!"

Apollo rubbed his eyes tiredly. "It's fine, I was just shocked." Trucy patted him on the arm sympathetically, smiling. "I'm glad we have a recess, though. There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Alice rolled her eyes. "I know, I know, what I was fighting about with Sean the past week. It's really nothing big or dramatic. He just wouldn't tell me something I wanted to know, and that branched into this whole argument about trust, yadda yadda yadda. But you have to believe me, we made up before he was killed! He told me, and I apologized! Besides, one fight's hardly something for me to drop a freaking spotlight on his head for!"

Trucy blinked. "What wouldn't he tell you?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "Just gossip I wanted to know. What I'm confused about is why Sophia isn't here. She's not that much of a wimp, she should be able to stand seeing someone's skull get crushed in front of her."

Apollo's palms began to sweat. _I think I'm beginning to see where Klavier is coming from about that now…_

"Is there anything else you think we should know? It's not a good thing to keep your attorney in the dark about stuff like this."

Alice appeared to think about this for a second, eyebrows furrowed. "I…don't think so. Nothing comes to mind, at least."

Trucy brightened. "Hey, was that blue dress we saw in your dressing room yours?"

Alice grinned widely. "Yeah, isn't it so pretty?!"

"Uh huh!" Trucy squealed, giggling. "I can't believe you get to wear that! I think it'd be too long on me, you're taller than I am, though."

The blonde nodded, grin still in place. "Me and Sophia would argue about it all the time. She's my understudy, you know. We both adore that dress, but it wasn't really arguing, just girly bickering, you know. Joking around, and all that."

Apollo cleared his throat. "Alice, there's still one thing I'm not sure about. Where were you when Sean was killed?"

She blinked. "I was in my dressing room getting ready for the show. I hadn't heard anything about the killing until these cops suddenly burst into the room and started jabbering at me. You can guess how shocked I was."

Apollo frowned, running a hand through his hair. "Was anybody in there with you, or saw you going in there?"

Alice shook her head slowly. "No. Me and Sophia are the only people who are in that dressing room, and she was rehearsing with Sean."

The defense attorney groaned. _It's impossible to prove that she was in there! What am I supposed to do now?_

Trucy tugged on his sleeve. "Polly, we have to go back in, it's been ten minutes." He scowled, but followed her back through the double doors into the courtroom.


End file.
